Commercial Intelligence.

New Zealand Herald, Issue 2, 17 November 1863, Page 4

Commercial Intelligence.

Yesterday Mr. S. Coehrauc submitted at auction the cargoes of the ' Will "Watch' and ' Victoria,' from Rorotonga. The sale was well attended, and the bidding brisk. Subjoined arc tho figures realized : —oranges, from Is. 3d., to Is. 4d. per doz. : bananas, 4d. per lb.; pine apples, lOd. to Is. each ; cocoa nuts, la. 7d. per dozen ; arrowroot, 4d. per lb.

To Buildfrs.—'Tenders for the erection of one or more cottages in William-street are requested to be sent in to the office of Mr. Keals, until 6 p.m. of Friday next; and Mr. James Wrigley lias called for tenders for additions to a house at Kemuera. The tenders will bo received at Mr. Wrigley's office until 4 p.m. of Friday next. Masonic. —A second special emergency meeting of members of the Ara Lodge will be lield to-morrow evening, at half-past seven o'clock. Firewood. —Tenders for the supply of 2,000 tons of lirewood, to be delivered at Otaliuhu, have been called for by Mr. James Foley. BniDGFS and Culverts.—The Provincial Government liave advertised for tenders, which will be received at the Superintendent's otlice until noon of Saturday next, the 21st iri.st., for building culverts and for ditching on the Great North lJoad, between the Northern Hotel and Ifewa l?ewa creek, and also for the erection of two small bridges and culverts near Mr. Croker's farm, at Matakana. Tenders for this latter work may be addressed either to Mr. Monro's, Mr. Ycrcoc's, or to Mr, Croker's, Matakana, or to the ollice of the Superintendent, Auckland. Nelson 3?aces.—Uiesc races, the principal of their kind which take place in the Middle Island, are, it seems, to come oil'on the Sth aud 9th of March next. On the first day a handicap plate of sixty sovereigns, added to a sweepstakes of ten sovereigns each, will be run for. The nomination for this race must be made oil or before the 31st December, and must be accompanied by a deposit of £5, and the horses named to the Secretary on or before the 27th of February, 1801. Tho' maiden plate of one hundred sovereigns, open to all horses which have never, at the time of entering, won an advertised race where more than twenty sovereigns of public money were given (matches excepted), will take place on the second day, "Wednesday. Entries ior the latter race must be forwarded to the Secretary of the Turf Club on or before the 31st December.

Breach of tiie Hakiiouk 1{ emulations. —- It will be seen by our police report of yesterday, that .Kenneth Ferguson, master of the schooner ' Fancy,' was charged by Capt. l-'llis, Harbour Master, with a breach of the 7th clause, 2nd sec. of the Harbour I'ort of Auckland. It appears that on Thursday last, the 12th inst., the defendant went on shore, and left no one in charge of the vessel, and she afterwards commenced to drag and foul a number of other small craft, and ultimately drifted over towards the North Shore. Had it not been for one of the men-of-war's boats promptly putting oil' and securely mooring her, nothing could have prevented the schooner from going on shore, aud becoming a total wreck. Capt. Ellis stated that tliis practice had greatly increased of late, and in order to put a stop to it, and malce an example to others, lie had determined to summon the defendant, as it was a most wilful breach of the regulations. His "Worship fined him £10, and costs. It is to be hoped that this will stop any further careless proceedings of this nature, as in this instance serious damage might have been the result not only to the ' Fancy' herself, but to other craft which she might have injured ill her course. Wesleyan Missions.—On account of the unfavourable state of the weather, and the consequent absence of an average congregation, the annual meeting of the above society, after a short time spent in prayer, adjourned until Thursday evening next.

f AHLH.VHVTAIIV. —The Speaker of the Legislative Council having taken the chair, a conunuiiiiHtiou was read announcing the resignation by Mr. Charles B. Wither of his scut. Leave was given lo bring in a bill to repeal tin Act for amending the " Interpvetation Act, ISSS," and for defining the time when Ac.'s of the General Assembly shall come into operation. The Enquiry into Wrecks Bill passed iis final stages, with the addition of a clause excluding Her Majesty's vessels from its operation. The Provincial Councils Powers Bill was postponed till Tuesday, and the Colonial Defence Force, the Provincial Compulsory Land Taking, and the Suppression of Rebellion Bills were read the third time and ordered to be transmitted to the House of Representatives for their concurrence in the amendments made therein. The second reading of the Zew Zealand Settlements Bill was then moved by the lion. Mr. Wliitaker, the lion, gentleman stating it to be a fellow to and a necessary part of the Suppression of Rebellion Bill they had just passed, and stated that without a measure of. the nature he then proposed, they might look with certainty upon a periodical repetition of the state of things now existing in the province, and that it was absolutely necessary for the welfare of the Native equally with the European race, to prevent insurrections of that character. He believed it to be idle to march through the country and back again, aad therefore fell it to be a duty to ask the Council to give the Government sueli control over the native land as would enable them to put such a population in the country as would not only be able to defend themselves, but save a reccurrence of war in this land. There were two principles in the bill—one, that involved in the power given to the Governor to take land belonging to Hie natives, for (lie purpose of forming European settlements, and the other point was whether the parties in rebellion from whom the land was taken, had any claim to compensation. He had no hesitation in saving they had no claim whatever, and that both principles were just a:id incontrovertible. The lion, gentleman believed the Natives to be as much subjects of Her Majesty as lie himself was, and by rebellion forfeited their rights ; but even viewed apart from being British subjects, they themselves had infringed the Treaty of Waitangi, and it was a very just principle that when one party broke a treaty the other party could not be bound by it. The lion. Mr. Swainson followed, opposing the bill, on the ground that it was proposed to take land from Natives not in rebellion, and -also on the ground that more land was proposed to be taken than was needed for the purposes of those special settlements. He also argued that it was incompetent for the General Assembly to pass such an Act, beceause by the trcatv of Waitangi the Queen said the natives should hold their land as long as they chose, and because the Assembly had no power to pass any measure dealing with native land ; if the bill were passed he hoped it would be reserved for the royal assent. He cautioned the Government to think well before they took so important a step. The lion, gentlemen concluded by remarking that it required but a small policy to fill the country with troops, but the real work to be done was to bring back the native race to loyalty and confidence ; he was however far from despising force and power, it was the inadequacy of the Europeans in this respect which had allured the maories to their own ruin, and could he at that moment address the whole native race he would warn them that their only chance of existence as a people was to hold fast the treaty of Waitangi, and return to their allegiance to the British crown. 'The lion. Mr. Salmon intimated his intention to support the measure; native land should be treated as European would be ; the maories should no longer be told, " My dear children you have done wrong, don't do so any more," but made to fee I the penalty of wrong-doing. Dr. Pollen approved the objects of the bill, for the country demanded the rapid and complete settlement of this question, and military settlements had become a necessity of the times; the bill however went too far, enough land for the purposes of the settlement should be taken, but the bill, in his opinion, went beyond the necessity of the case —was in fact the confiscation of all the lands of the tribes supposed Lo be in rebellion, and that was the particular part of the scheme to which he had an insurmountable objection; the policy was a most unfortunate one —in his opinion immoral, delusive and unsound. The hou. gentleman then referred to the solemn obligations of the Crown in the signing of the treaty of Waitangi, and the suspicions of the natives with regard to the ultimate design of the Europeans, suspicions awakened then and continued inereassingly to tiia present time, and said he regretted that there was nothing fliev could point to with pride us oJiVriug a couU'SHUcUoi)"to tlut

suspicion ; the obligations oi" the Crown had not been fulfilled as they-ought; legislation for them had been merely nominal. The elfeet of the wide-spread confiscation would result in the extinguishment of the native race, for the maori would rather die than yield up his land. Succcssful settlement must be peaceful settlement, and he apprehended that but few furrows would be turned in Waikato if ploughmen had to go to their fields with the rille and eartouclie-box on their shoulders. Unfortunately the proposed policy was a popular one with the rude and unthinking out doors. He expressed a hope that the administration of the measure would prove better than the law itself, and that the gentleman empowered to carry it out would consider rather the requirements of justice than court the approbation of the multitude. Mr. Stokes was afraid the ell'ect of the bill would be injurious to the southern settlements in turning the natives into discontented and desperate marauders. Mr. Wliitaker having replied to the various objections raised, the Council divided, 14 being for and 2 (Messrs. Sewell and Swainson) against the measure. Several alterations of a minor character having been made in committee, the bill was read as amended, and ordered for third reading on Tuesday. An Act to continue the " Arms Act, 1801," was read t. second time ; third reading to-day. Th; lion. Mr. Wliitaker gave notice of his intention to move the following resolution this day:—" Resolved, that on the occasion of the arrival of the ship ' Himalaya,' with the 50th regiment, this Council desires io express its sincere acknowledgments to Her Majesty's principal Secretary of State for the Colonics, the Duke of Newcastle, for the promptitude with which he has caused sutlicient aid to be afforded to the Colony in its need.. That this resolution be transmitted to His Excellency the Go vein or, with a request that he will be pleased to forward the same to His Grace the Duke of Newcastle."